Susilo told to ban dual positions for officials
Susilo told to ban dual positions for officials
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) was again urged on
Thursday to prohibit government officials from holding double
positions in an effort to fight corruption.
Holding double positions can cause conflicts of interest among
officials in state agencies, hampering efforts to build good
governance, an official from the National Awakening Party (PKB)
said.
"President SBY must also retract a statement he made allowing
family members of state officials to run businesses," Ali Masykur
Musa, who head the PKB faction in the House of Representatives,
said at a year-end news conference.
Accompanied by PKB faction secretary Helmy Faishal Zain, Ali
said business activities by family members of state officials
would affect the transparency of the state's financial
management.
He said bureaucrats still generally embraced feudalistic and
paternalistic management styles, increasing the possibility of
their becoming involved in collusion and corruption.
Though Ali did not name names, there are numerous high-ranking
state officials holding more than one position. Vice President
Jusuf Kalla was recently elected as the new leader of Golkar
Party, the country's largest political party.
State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra is also the chairman of
the Crescent Star Party (PBB), while Minister of Forestry M.S.
Ka'ban is the party's secretary-general.
The former speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly,
Amien Rais, earlier said Kalla's election as Golkar leader could
cause problems within the state administration.
Ali did say that Susilo's administration had so far shown its
commitment to eradicating corruption, but suggested that law
enforcers prioritize large graft cases that caused enormous
financial losses to the state.
Many former council members have been jailed, are standing
trial or are being investigated for corruption in regencies and
provinces across Indonesia, which recently was ranked as one of
the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency
International.
President Susilo has promised quick approval for
investigations of high-ranking officials, including governors,
mayors and regents, suspected of graft.
Despite the promise, the Attorney General's Office has come
under fire from antigraft activists for halting investigations
into high-profile corruption cases, including a Rp 331 billion
case allegedly involving businessman Prajogo Pangestu.
Other closed cases include a Rp 300 billion graft scandal that
allegedly involved businessman Robby Tjahjadi, a US$24.8 million
graft case to which Ginandjar Kartasasmita was allegedly linked,
a Rp 10 trillion graft case that allegedly involved Syamsul
Nursalim and a Rp 12.9 billion case in which Tanri Abeng's name
was mentioned.
New Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has promised to reopen
some of these cases.
Addressing the death of human rights campaigner Munir, the PKB
faction demanded Susilo make the case a priority.
Susilo recently issued a decree establishing an independent
team to investigate Munir's death by arsenic poisoning.
Munir died aboard a Garuda plane while traveling to Amsterdam
from Jakarta on Sept. 7.
The PKB faction said it fully supported the establishment of
an independent team to investigate the activist's death.
"The case must be thoroughly investigated, otherwise it will
deter other human rights campaigners," Helmy Faishal said.